A few World Heritage sites (25 out of 851) around the world are mixed sites, which means that they meet the criteria for both natural and cultural heritage.

 

One such example is the Laponian area in northern Sweden, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996. The World Heritage Committee’s justifications include the site’s natural and cultural values. The area is an outstanding example of how the land has developed, above all geologically, and of ongoing ecological and biological changes. The area also includes outstanding natural phenomena of exceptional natural beauty and significant natural habitats to protect biological diversity. Lapland’s World Heritage site in northern Sweden, inhabited by the Sami people since prehistoric times, is one of the best preserved examples of transhumance (seasonal nomadism) in northern Scandinavia. It contains settlements and pastureland for large reindeer herds. The move to summer grazing land is a practice that was widespread at one time and dates back to an early stage in human economic and social development.